Google Pixel 6a: Everything you need to know

There was little doubt that Google would officially reveal the Pixel 6a at Google I/O 2022 but there was the latent concern that we wouldn’t receive it locally, considering we were skipped over for the release of a Pixel 5a in Australia. Thankfully, Google was quick to quell those concerns when it announced Australian pricing and availability for the Google Pixel 6a on the same day it was announced.

Pre-orders for the Google Pixel 6a in Australia went live on the 21st of July. Read on for more information on pre-order deals from Telstra, Vodafone and more.

Here in Australia, the Google Pixel 6a costs $749. Now that preorders are available, we have more information on some of the Pixel 6a deals and discounts you can expect from Australian providers.

Telstra is offering the Google Pixel 6a 5G 128GB on 12, 24 and 36-month plans. It has all three colours (Sage, Chalk and Charcoal) available for purchase. If you pre-order the Pixel 6a through Telstra, you'll save $100 off the handset costs over the life of the plan. 

Telstra's cheapest Google Pixel 6a plan is the Telstra Upfront Plan Basic which costs $76.02 per month on a 36-month plan. It comes with 40GB of data per month, access to the Telstra 5G network, and unlimited calls and text.

Vodafone is offering the Google Pixel 6a 5G 128GB on 12, 24 and 36-month plans. It only has two colours available (Chalk and Charcoal) available for purchase. If you have an eligible device, Vodafone will give a bonus $200 credit if you trade it in towards the Pixel 6a pre-order. 

Vodafone's cheapest Google Pixel 6a plan available for preorder is the $40 Lite Plan. With the Google Pixel 6a, the Lite Plan starts at $60.80 per month on a 36-month plan. It comes with 40GB of Max Speed Data (and infinite* data at 2Mbps after that), unlimited standard national calls and text, three months of Amazon Music Unlimited and a bonus 70GB of monthly data for students. 

Here in Australia, we usually get the short stick when it comes to Google’s fancier colourways but this year we have all three (Sage, Chalk and Charcoal) available to purchase. 

Most retailers and mobile providers will offer all three colours, except for Vodafone, which is only offering the Chalk and Charcoal variants. 

Pre-orders of the Google Pixel 6a are now available as of the 21st of July. The Google Pixel 6a officially goes on sale next week on Thursday the 28th of July. Pre-orders are currently available through Telstra, Vodafone, JB HI-FI, Harvey Norman and the Google Store. 

Kogan is also taking expressions of interest at the time of writing. 

Past Pixel a series phones have never skimped too much on the premium specs of their flagship counterparts; that's what makes them such a popular mid-range smartphone. For example, the Google Pixel 6a shares many comparable specs with the premium Pixel 6 which released in October 2021 with only a handful of downgrades. 

Most importantly, the Google Pixel 6a shares the same processing power as the Pixel 6. Take a look at the table below for a breakdown of the Pixel 6a's specs compared with the Google Pixel 6.